Every doctor has his or her own conception of what constitutes good health. As I havediscussed, my concept is a dynamic one in which we become more healthy as our bodysystems function at a higher level. The Anti-Inflammation Lifestyle (AIL) promotes healthby improving function at the cellular level. Lowering inflammation enables the cells of ourbodies to work more efficiently and improves circulation which improves the ability of cells toobtain adequate nutrition and effectively clear toxins and waste. A healthy diet and propersupplementation together form two of the five pillars which comprise the AIL, the other threebeing: exercise, stress management, and restorative sleep. Like the legs of a stool, eachof the five pillars plays a role in supporting the AIL, upon which optimal function and healthultimately rest.

“How important is it really to exercise? I eat well, I take supplements, I am not overweight, andmy stress levels are low. My wife and I even walk on weekends. So aren’t I healthy? Do Ireally need to do exercise every day?” I am asked some version of this question on almost a daily basis in my practice. Some peoplejust hate to exercise. Others are averse to swallowing pills, making it difficult for them to takeimportant supplements. Still others have difficulty breaking unhealthy food cravings. In theend the question seems always to be, “Can’t good health be achieved by using four of the fivepillars? Or three?” Just as the concept of health itself is a relative one (higher or lower levels of functioncorrespond to better or worse health across a wide Continuum), so should each of the pillarsbe considered fluid. It is not so much a question of whether one’s diet is good or bad, whetherone exercises or not, whether one takes all the right supplements or none of them, etc. Ratherit is a question of making effort to move in the right direction along the Continuum of health, andto do so we must try to move at least to some degree in the right direction along the continuumof each of the five pillars. The Anti-Inflammation Lifestyle means eating progressively betterover time, taking the right supplements, doing one’s best to create a routine of regular exercise,not allowing stressful life situations to go unaddressed for too long, and creating healthy sleep/wake cycles with adequate rest. Can a person be healthy and not eat healthily? Can a personbe healthy without exercising? Without sufficient rest? Without managing their stress levels?Without taking supplements? Well, four good legs on a stool are a lot better than three, but theyare less strong and stable than five. Of the Five Pillars of good health, cardiovascular exercise stands in the center, bearing more ofthe burden of support than any of the others.